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It's always seemed a bit odd to me to read reviews of TV comedies or dramas after just one episode, dismissing an entire project. It's a bit like reviewing a novel solely on the basis of the first two chapters or an album after listening to the first two tracks. Instead of trying to make a judgment after one episode, review every episode and then reach your verdict. To truly get a handle on a TV series, you need to watch the whole thing. You need to understand the characters, follow how they develop and judge whether the writers, actors and director have made them and the plot credible enough. Rob Williams' new Channel 4 prison drama 'Screw' was not afforded that luxury from some right wing British newspapers when its first two episodes aired earlier this month. Both the  Daily Express  and the  Daily Mail rushed to declare the six part series a flop on the back of both episodes. But they drew those observations from some grumbling on social media. A quick glance a

James McAvoy is one of those actors who is not afraid to push the boat out. Whether it is playing a corrupt Edinburgh cop in  'Filth'  or a schizophrenic kidnapper with 24 personalities in  'Split,'  he is prepared to take risks. He'll mix Hollywood fare like the  'X Men'  prequels and action films like  'Atomic Blonde'  with indie comedies or dramas like Damian O'Donnell's 'Inside I'm Dancing' or Tom Vaughan's 'University Challenge' inspired 'Starter for Ten'. Not every gamble has paid off but the Glaswegian is arguably one of the most daring actors around. Now he's at it again in a rain drenched thriller for Amazon Prime 'My Son,' set in the Scottish Highlands. A remake by French director Christian Carion of his 2017 thriller 'Mon Garcon' with Guillaume Canet, 'My Son' is notable for the way its star has made the movie. While the rest of the cast and crew were embedded in the Highl

  There's been a tradition over the years of movies set in tight confines that become showcases for great acting. Usually, but not always, they have their roots as plays and feature characters in highly stressful situations. Sidney Lumet's 1957 jury drama 'Twelve Angry Men' with Henry Fonda is a prime example of how to do it well, with its characters arguing over the fate of an 18 year old boy on trial for fatally stabbing his father. James Foley's 1992 version of David Mamet's 'Glengarry, Glen Ross,' with Jack Lemmon and Al Pacino, is another fine example - taking place in a real estate office whose salesmen are desperately competing with each other to save their jobs. Steven Knight's 2013 drama  'Locke'  with Tom Hardy unfolded over the course of an 84 minute car journey as a construction foreman's life falls apart during a series of phone calls. Fran Kranz's 110 minute drama 'Mass' is the latest movie to follow this templat

George Clooney's 'The Tender Bar' is the kind of coming of age film that Hollywood studios used to make. Writers and directors these days rely on indie companies to get coming of age stories into production. They also depend on streaming giants to distribute them. Seasoned filmgoers watching 'The Tender Bar' will inevitably feel they've been down its path many times before. Nevertheless, there's something to be said for movies that execute their coming of age tales well. 'The Tender Bar' is one such film. Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist JR Moehringer's 2005 memoir, the story has been adapted for the screen by the Oscar winning writer of 'The Departed,' William Monahan. It begins with Lily Rabe's Dorothy Maguire and her son, Daniel Ranieri's JR arriving at her family home in Long Island. Dorothy is still recovering from her disastrous relationship with JR's feckless, heavy drinking, womanising DJ father, Max Mart

Rachel Carey's hairdressing comedy 'Deadly Cuts' nipped in for a short back and sides when it was released in UK cinemas last year. Pitched somewhere between the humour of early Roddy Doyle and Brendan O'Connor, it didn't last long in English, Scottish and Welsh cinemas. A simple, foul mouthed, working class Dublin comedy, Carey's film made around £164,000 at the UK box office. It did well, however,  at the Irish box office - racing to number three in the charts in its opening week, just behind  'No Time To Die'  and 'Addams Family 2'. Carey's film also achieved the best opening in Ireland for a native film by a female director for 20 years. It was also the biggest opening for a domestically made movie since Lee Cronin's superb 2019 Wicklow horror film  'The Hole in the Ground' . 'Deadly Cuts' has since been acquired for distribution in South Africa, Australia and Spain where it will get a release on St Patrick's Day.